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ProvidersChecked 2026-10-28

boxd

KVM machines in the EU that boot in milliseconds, snapshot with memory, fork live, and hibernate when idle.

Short answer: One always-on personal agent (2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB) costs about $110.90 a month here, the 9th cheapest of the 11 providers that run it as described. The AI model adds about $14.70 a month on top (GLM 5.3, 30 requests a day at 40k tokens each, median zero-retention price; from $6.84 at the cheapest host). Fits well: A build-and-test workload that needs a fork of memory and disk in 100–200 ms.

boxd.sh16 providersSources linked

boxd sells persistent Linux virtual machines: each one a KVM guest with its own kernel, root, systemd and a fixed 100 GB copy-on-write disk. They boot in milliseconds, can be copied while running, and park themselves when idle.

The pattern it is built for is: compose one machine by hand (install tools, sign into agents, leave a service running), save it as a snapshot, then stamp out identical machines from it.

It is one product sold three ways: pay-as-you-go credits, a Custom contract with SSO and audit logs, and a self-hosted version you run on your own hardware.

At a glance

Who it is forDevelopers and teams who want a normal Linux server that happens to be a VM, with fast copies: dev workspaces, preview environments, coding agents, one machine per customer.
IsolationKVM microVM with its own kernel, network stack and disk, on boxd's open-source Ignition orchestrator. Docker, systemd, kernel modules and breaking the OS are all allowed and stay inside that one machine. Firecracker use is not documented.
SizesFour sizes named by either dimension: 1 vCPU / 4 GiB, 2 / 8 (the default), 4 / 16, 8 / 32. Disk is fixed at 100 GB and is not a size choice.
A personal agent hereAbout $110.90 a month for one always-on 2 vCPU / 4 GiB machine (2/8: 2 vCPU / 8 GiB / 20 GiB), before the AI model. Change the numbers
Recommended in

Fits well, fits badly

Our reading of the sourced material on this page, not a provider claim.

Fits well

  • A build-and-test workload that needs a fork of memory and disk in 100–200 ms.
  • A team that wants a KVM machine with its own kernel, Docker, systemd and kernel modules.
  • EU hosting on German bare metal, with an allowlist enforced outside the machine.

Fits badly

  • Procurement that needs an SLA, a status page or a certification before signing.
  • A workload whose cost depends on RAM: memory bills on resident use, also in standby.
  • Anything needing a REST API, a US region today, or a published egress price.

How it bills

ModelPrepaid credits, no plan and no per-seat fee.
MeterPer second, settled every 15 minutes, on three meters: vCPU on the machine's size while running, RAM on resident memory while running or in standby, disk on bytes written in every state.
While stoppedDisk only. Hibernated and stopped machines pay for written disk; a machine in standby keeps paying for RAM.
Plan feeNone. Custom and self-hosted are contracts with unpublished prices.
MinimumNo minimum charge per machine. There is no free plan: $30 of credit requires a card, and an account without one is capped at two machines.

How boxd lets you try before paying is on Trials and free tiers.

Where it stands out

  • A live fork that copies memory and disk in 100–200 ms.
  • Snapshots that keep memory, so new machines come up already running.
  • Secrets bound to a host: the machine holds an opaque placeholder, never the key.
  • EU-only residency on German bare metal, plus a self-hosted option.
  • Four state tools with distinct jobs: snapshot, checkpoint, backup, fork.

Using it without writing code

DashboardYes, at boxd.sh/app, with Machines, Backups, Domains, Integrations, Organizations and Billing pages plus a desktop viewer. It is secondary: every guide's first instruction is a CLI command, and the sign-in page leads with Download the CLI.
Without codePartly, and less than the marketing suggests. A non-coder can watch and drive a machine someone else set up (desktop, browser, files), and can copy a prompt for an AI agent to do the setup. There is no template gallery and no one-click agent.
SignupGitHub or Google, then a card for the $30 credit and for more than two machines. There is no waitlist in the EU; the US region has one. Every account starts with a 25-minute onboarding call.
Docs and supportMintlify docs with a full CLI reference, gRPC proto, SDK references and machine-readable bundles. Support is a founder by email. There is no status page.

Capability checklist

Every capability the guide checks, with the catch where boxd's version falls short. Compare all providers

Isolation

Sizes and regions

Lifecycle

Snapshots and forks

Storage

Idle and waking

Reaching it

Custom domains

Outbound network

Keys and secrets

Ways to drive it

Built-in agents

Teams and accounts

Billing models

Trials and free tiers

The company

The company

From the profile's company section: the legal entity, who funds it, and what a buyer can check before signing.

Legal entity

Azin Tech Operating Company B.V., KvK 99718340, registered in Amsterdam. Boxd is a trading name.

““Boxd”, “we”, “us” or “our” means Azin Tech Operating Company B.V. (KvK 99718340, RSIN 869104743, VAT NL869104743B01), with its corporate seat in Amsterdam” boxd.sh docs-confirmed

Founded

Registered 5 February 2026; the first public blog post is 14 August 2026. No founding date is published.

“Oprichtingsdatum: 05-02-2026KvK nr: 99718340” drimble.nl third-party

Funding

€2M pre-seed led by BlueYard Capital, announced 16 September 2026. No later round is published.

“boxd has raised €2 million in pre-seed funding led by BlueYard Capital, with participation from Antler, OVNI, s20, Script Capital and a group of angels who have built developer infrastructure before.” boxd.sh docs-confirmed

Headcount

Not published. The blog counts three authors, which is a floor rather than a headcount.

not-published

Status and SLA

No status page, no published uptime figure and no SLA. Support is a founder-led 25-minute onboarding call.

not-published

Certification

No SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA or PCI claim on the site, the terms or the privacy notice.

not-published

Data residency

Marketed as EU-only with no US cloud dependency, but the privacy notice describes EU and US clusters on a Delaware infrastructure vendor.

“Latitude.sh LLC (Delaware, United States): bare-metal server infrastructure for our European Union and United States clusters.” boxd.sh docs-confirmed

Caveats and contradictions

Shown as the research found them. A contradiction means the provider's own pages disagree; an open question means the answer is not published.

  1. 01

    The bill follows resident RAM, not the shape Open question

    A 4 vCPU machine is 16 GiB, but boxd bills the memory it actually holds: $222.50 a month at 8 GiB resident and $304.26 at 16 GiB. boxd's own calculator assumes 2 GiB on an 8 GiB machine, which is a best case rather than a typical one.

  2. 02

    Public URLs are open, and bot protection gates only wake-ups Open question

    There is no authentication in front of name.boxd.sh. Bot protection is on by default, but it only asks a browser check when a request would wake a sleeping machine, and it applies to the main address, never to subdomain proxies or custom domains. A webhook, API client or uptime monitor that hits a sleeping machine gets a 503 check page and the machine does not wake.

  3. 03

    The machine quota is stated as both 50 and 100 Contradiction

    Docs and FAQ say 50 machines per organisation; the pricing page says 100 included, raiseable on request.

    “Machines | 50 per organization (your default org included)”
    boxddocs-confirmed
    “100 machines included, raiseable on request”
    boxdpricing-page
  4. 04

    Inbound public IPv4 is contradictory Contradiction

    The docs say every machine's domain points at the proxy's shared public IP, and SSH runs on a dedicated port on that shared proxy IP. The FAQ says machines come with a public IPv4. No price for an inbound IPv4 is published. Both statements are current, so the answer is unresolved.

    “persistent, forkable Linux VMs with their own kernel, a public IPv4, and an automatic HTTPS domain”
    boxddocs-confirmed
    “Every machine's domain points at the proxy's shared public IP.”
    boxddocs-confirmed
  5. 05

    EU-only, except for the US cluster in its own privacy notice Contradiction

    The FAQ says managed boxd runs on EU hardware with no US cloud dependency. The privacy notice names a Delaware infrastructure vendor and two clusters, and says choosing the US cluster transfers data to the United States. The residency answer depends on which page you read.

    “Managed boxd runs on EU hardware with no US cloud dependency, GDPR / DSGVO by default, and no exposure to US subpoenas.”
    boxddocs-confirmed
    “If you choose our United States Cluster… your data may be transferred to and processed in the United States.”
    boxddocs-confirmed
  6. 06

    Static egress IP is unconfirmed Open question

    No boxd page mentions a dedicated or static outbound address, and none prices one. battleships.dev lists it as a feature. We could not confirm it, so it is neither offered nor ruled out here.

  7. 07

    Prices moved about 20% in 19 days Open question

    The 9 October capture showed €0.049/vCPU-hour, €0.015/GiB-hour and 50 machines; the 28 October page shows €0.039, €0.012 and 100 machines. Any cost figure needs a date.

  8. 08

    Storage prices are not published Open question

    Snapshots, checkpoints, backups and extra disks all exist, and none has a published price. Egress has no price or allowance either.

  9. 09

    No status page and no REST API Open question

    status.boxd.sh does not resolve and boxd.sh/status is a 404. The only wire API is gRPC; there is no HTTP/JSON endpoint for machines.

Sources

The three shared workloads

List-price illustrations from the calculator, not quotes. Prices checked 29 October 2026.

A · 1,000 short tasks

$25.16

2/8: 2 vCPU / 8 GiB / 10 GiB (plan: Prepaid credit)

  • CPU166.67 h × 2 vCPU × $0.047$15.67
  • Memory166.67 h × 4 GiB × $0.014$9.33
  • Disk while running166.67 h × 10 GiB × $0.000096$0.16
  • Memory is billed on resident memory; the calculator uses the memory you entered as the resident figure, up to the size's full allocation.
  • $30 of credit needs a card; without one an account is capped at two machines.
  • Egress and snapshot storage prices are not published, so neither is included.

B · One always-on box

$222.50

4/16: 4 vCPU / 16 GiB / 50 GiB (plan: Prepaid credit)

  • CPU730 h × 4 vCPU × $0.047$137.24
  • Memory730 h × 8 GiB × $0.014$81.76
  • Disk while running730 h × 50 GiB × $0.000096$3.50
  • Memory is billed on resident memory; the calculator uses the memory you entered as the resident figure, up to the size's full allocation.
  • $30 of credit needs a card; without one an account is capped at two machines.
  • Egress and snapshot storage prices are not published, so neither is included.

C · Three hours a day

$14.90

2/8: 2 vCPU / 8 GiB / 20 GiB (plan: Prepaid credit)

  • CPU90 h × 2 vCPU × $0.047$8.46
  • Memory90 h × 4 GiB × $0.014$5.04
  • Disk while running90 h × 20 GiB × $0.000096$0.17
  • Disk while stopped640 h × 20 GiB × $0.000096$1.23
  • Memory is billed on resident memory; the calculator uses the memory you entered as the resident figure, up to the size's full allocation.
  • $30 of credit needs a card; without one an account is capped at two machines.
  • Egress and snapshot storage prices are not published, so neither is included.